G.T. Marsh & Sons Jewelry Suite, ca. 1940
GUEST: My father-in-law started collecting Asian art. And G.T. Marsh and Sons imported many, many beautiful things. And we're talking around the '40s and '50s, when he was going to s, G.T. Marsh. Well, he struck up a relationship with Mr. Marsh and was invited to their family home in Stinson Beach, and took my husband, Bill, with him to create something lovely for his mother.
APPRAISER: As a young man, Marsh was traveling from Australia. He's 15 and says he wants to stay in Japan for a while. And he starts to absorb the Japanese aesthetics and design. Um, something as simple as this box that this piece came in, there's Japanese dragons. He was one of the first to start exploring with mixed metals. When he's in the shop here, in San Francisco, they have an Italian jeweler, and I really wouldn't know this, except that one of our colleagues, who's not with us anymore, was, like, the Marsh expert.
GUEST: Really?!
APPRAISER: Yeah, his name was Barry Weber.
GUEST: All righty.
APPRAISER: And, uh, and I miss you, Barry. He taught me about this jewelry. He just loved it-- he had a passion for it. This is oxidized steel on the surface. How do they oxidize it? Well, this Italian jeweler was a gunsmith. He knew about bluing gun barrels. In this particular case, they perfected a technique where they sandblast the metal. They use chemicals, they use heat, and they would gently give the metal this nice matte finish. And then in these connectors, they usually used white gold or platinum.
GUEST: All right.
APPRAISER: I did test these.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: They're white gold-- they are, in all three pieces, diamonds. And that is a cultured pearl, which would fit with coming out of Japan, and Mikimoto developing the pearls.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Now, you have three things here. I'll, I'll break it down-- the ring. The ring has a half-carat old-European-cut diamond in it.
GUEST: All right.
APPRAISER: The beauty of the earrings-- you can tell everybody. What's so fun about the earrings?
GUEST: The pearls move back and forth. As you move your head, the pearls swing back and forth. And it's a spring action. And they clamp on so well. At 65 years, they're as good as they were done yesterday!
APPRAISER: And women who, um, don't have pierced ears...
GUEST: (chuckling) Right, right.
APPRAISER: ...love these earrings.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And they're not too heavy.
GUEST: No, not at all!
APPRAISER: On the necklace, I have to tell you, it kind of blew me away. You see big brooches, you see pins. I have never seen a necklace quite like this from Marsh.
GUEST (voice breaking): You're going to make me cry.
APPRAISER: (laughing)
GUEST: That's wonderful.
APPRAISER: It really is fabulous. I think very realistically and at auction, as a suite, I think you're looking at $30,000 to $44,000.
GUEST (inhales deeply): Wow.
APPRAISER: Now, to break it down, it's easy $20,000 to $30,000 just for the necklace.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: Necklace is beyond fabulous. I believe the earrings would be $5,000 to $7,000. I believe the ring would be the same. You might find a ring, you might find a pair of earrings, but you're going to have a lot of difficulty...
GUEST: Finding that. Thank you so much, Kevin.
APPRAISER (laughing): You're welcome.
GUEST: You made my day.
APPRAISER: You made mine.
$30,000 - $44,000 Auction
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Diamonds
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Audemars Piguet Watch, ca. 1940
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Pendant Jewelry by Faberge from 1880
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Marsh Steel, Jade & Diamond Ring, ca. 1950
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Tiffany & Co. Ceylon Star Sapphire Ring, ca. 1922
Understanding Our Appraisals
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
